Dr. Stone is going to the moon! Eventually! After season 3 revealed post-apocalyptic science prodigy Senku Ishigami's ultimate goal of traveling to the lunar surface to reverse the process that petrified all of humanity centuries ago, it’s surprising that the first episode of the final season of Dr. Stone doesn't similarly aim for the stars, pulling out a crazy fight or plot twist. Instead, it follows the lead of past premieres and reintroduces the characters, setting, and premise finding some amusing calm before the high-stakes storm to come.
More than a simple montage of past events, the episode recaps the story so far through an in-universe audio log recorded by Minami the former journalist – which makes for a fun gag when we see that she’s recording it on a literal wooden log. Minami even interviews some of the crewmembers of the ship Perseus to remind us of the side characters who haven't had much screen time (or in the case of "Strongest High School Primate" Tsukasa, have been in a coma for a whole season) by having them state their motivations and quirks directly to the screen. There are some great moments of humor that highlight the cartoony tone of Dr. Stone, like Suika informing the crew of Senku and Ryusui's fight. The other characters react not to her words, but to the thought bubble coming out of Suika's head that shows the two captains kicking up a cloud of dust in their tussle as if they were Tom and Jerry.
The main concern of the episode is that confrontation between Senku and the revived sailor Ryusui, in which they argue about what route to take to the United States and whether they can make it before winter hits. (Otherwise, they have to waste time waiting until spring.) Though this is still an action anime, their conflict is never really about coming to blows, but finding creative ways to resolve differences (with some actual fighting). In this case, Senku and Ryusui were always going to have it out eventually, so it’s hilarious that their confrontation isn't about fisticuffs, but a game of poker. Somehow, there’s a poker table, cards, and chips aboard the Perseus, and the two decide to bet the ship's route on a game. Rather than the obvious implementation of Senku's superpowered brain being on using math to count cards or something more scientific, it's a silly yet hilarious match all about seeing which side can cheat first without being caught. (Ryusui with mentalist Gen helping him, and Senku with Kohaku helping him spot Gen's trickery.) It's an exhilarating duel, and serves as a refreshing change of pace for Dr. Stone.
Unfortunately, the premiere also continues Dr. Stone’s haste when it comes to introducing new inventions. What was once a big appeal of the show – seeing how Senku and his team work to reinvent or rediscover modern devices and techniques and showing the historical process by which they were originally made – has now become almost a gimmick, a source of surprise for the sake of surprose. Do we need an entire episode showing how Senku and Francois made beer? Probably not, but to simply cut to a shot of a bar and throw a "Beer acquired!!" text box on the screen feels like something's missing. It's still fun to see the characters react to every new pre-stone-world thing Senku brings back, but it's not the same when the show skips past the scientific aspect of these discoveries.
